In Magazine Writing

Just as Dr. W. E. B. DuBois is recognized as the foremost magazine writer in the Negro race, not only in America but throughout the world; it is said he has also made The Crisis Magazine, of which he is editor-in-chief, the widest read Colored magazine of its kind not only in the Western but also in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is estimated that this magazine is read each month by nearly four hundred thousand people.

Among lettered Colored women, Miss Jessie R. Fauset, a graduate of Cornell where she was made a member of the Phi Betta Kappa Fraternity, later becoming a teacher of French and Latin in the M Street High School, Washington, D.C., and at present Literary Editor of the The Crisis Magazine, is today recognized by the best critics as a leading and most versatile magazine writer.

Such wise, timely and meatful articles as “Race Consciousness,” “Heart Talk,” “Representation of the American Woman,” “World Brotherhood,” “Oil Upon Troubled Waters” are among the many writings that have stamped Miss H. Georgiana Whyte, editor of the Women’s Department of The Favorite Magazine, as one of the most forceful and helpful magazine writers among Colored women.

Aside from long ago proving himself as one of the ablest Colored newspaper editors in the country, Attorney Robt. L. Vann of Pittsburgh, Pa., has shown by the high quality of his Competitor Magazine that as a writer in this field he is second to none.

The cheerfulness and life that Editor Fenton Johnson puts into his Favorite Magazine explains why it is having such a rapid growth and has become a sure-enough favorite with the Colored readers, not only in its home city of Chicago but throughout the country.

The inspiring snap that Editor Willis N. Huggins throws into his UpReach Magazine accounts for it being so popular, especially with the younger and progressive element among the Colored readers who are always benefited by such well chosen and written articles.

The exceptional ability to so vividly portray human nature from the viewpoints of both races when building up stories is one of the secrets that is the cause of Editor Aubery Bowser’s Rainbow Magazine being sought after by all readers who want to learn and understand the inside life situations as they really exist when the two races come in close contact.

Except those people who personally go through the tedious processes of a similar work, no one is able to fully realize and appreciate the value of the up-to-date culled, methodically complied, instructively built-up and tastily arranged matter that Miss Madeline G. Allison presents each month in The Crisis: under the heading “The Horizon.” In monthly compiling the tremendous new store of varied and far-reaching data her department contains, Miss Allison is doing a grand and unique piece of literary writing the workmanship and quality of which any magazine of any race would be proud to carry.

As the results of the deep thinking and outspoken opinions that get down to the very core and essence of the subjects handled by them, Editors Owens and Chandler, through the medium of their magazine The Messenger are fast mounting top rungs in their profession and at the same time attracting the wide attentions of well-versed and seasoned newspaper and magazine people in both races.

Although it has not been founded very long, the Method Magazine, edited by F. H. Hallion, of Richmond, Va., is attracting wide attention on account of its instructive and helpful articles pertaining to business relations in their many fields of activities.

The Brownies’ Book, edited by W. E. B. DuBois, & A. G. Dill of New York City, N. Y., is something entirely new in the field of Negro journalism. It is, “A monthly magazine for children which attempts to bring to them: The best in pictures and stories of Negro life. The life and deeds of famous men and women of the Negro race. The current events of the world told in beautiful language which children can understand.”

In going out of the way to thoughtfully assert that the Brownies’ Book should be in every Negro home where there are children; the writer expresses such a sentiment, not because of being more partial to this certain magazine and its editors than to other magazines and their editors, but, because he is ever proud to admit that he is really cranky partial to any Negro history no matter under what covers it may appear. Especially is this true when such history is written (as in the Brownies’ Book) in plain, easy, truthful and interesting English that makes first and lasting impressions upon young and tender Negro minds before they are indelibly imprinted and permanently poisoned by the devilish trash contained in blood-thirsty, underworld, dime novels so youthfully secured and greedily read by unwatched and idle-minded children of all races.

Although it is not a monthly magazine but a quarterly journal, The Journal of Negro History, edited by Carter G. Woodson of Washington, D.C. is a nationally known publication of instruction, encouragement and inspiration for the American Colored people, of matured years who wish to learn their Race history.

Monroe N. Work’s marvelously compiled Negro Year Book is conceded to be the greatest compact work of literary science ever produced by an American Negro. What the World Almanac is to the Caucasian Race, The Negro Year Book is to the Negro Race. The following quotation is what a leading white newspaper, The New York Sun, commented on this masterpiece of literature: “Interesting and important is the array of facts relating to the Negro contained in the Negro Year Book. The book is a perfect encyclopedia of achievements by Negroes in all ranks of life, of the history of the race in the United States, of Legislative enactments relating to them, of activity in all branches, particularly education. The book is indispensable to all who have to deal with any phase of the Negro question.”

The following is a list of the most important monthly, quarterly or yearly magazines or journals published in the United States by Colored people:

American Caterer & Gazette Guide,
Editor J. A. Ross, Buffalo, N. Y.
American Musicians’ Magazine,
Editor W. A. Potter, Phila., Pa.
Amusement World,
Editor Jack Trotter, Chicago, Ill.
Brotherhood Magazine,
Editor C. H. Taylor, Chicago, Ill.
Brownies’ Book,
Editors W. E. B. DuBois & A. G. Dill, New York, N.Y.
Business Men’s Bulletin,
Editor Edw. Perkins, Chicago, Ill.
Journal of Nat’l Medical Ass’n,
Editor Dr. J. A. Kenney, Tuskegee, Ala.
Journal of Negro History,
Editor C. G. Woodson, Washington, D.C.
Music and Poetry,
Editor Nora Douglass Holt, Chicago, Ill.
National Association Notes,
Editor Mrs. Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee, Ala.
The Colored Teacher,
Editor F. A. McGinnis, Wilberforce, Ohio.
The Competitor,
Editor Robt. L. Vann, Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Crisis,
Editor Dr. W. E. B. DuBois, New York City, N. Y.
The Crusader,
Editor, C V. Briggs, New York City, N. Y.
The Favorite,
Editor Fenton Johnson, Chicago, Ill.
The Half Century,
Editor Katherine W. Irmin, Chicago, Ill.
The Master Musician,
Editor G. W. Parris, Phila., Pa.
The Method,
Editor F. H. Hallion, Richmond, Va.
The Messenger,
Editors Owens and Chandler, New York City, N. Y.
The Pullman Porter’s Review,
Editor Z. Withers, Chicago, Ill.
The Rainbow,
Editor Aubrey Bowser, New York City, N. Y.
The Negro Year Book,
Editor Monroe N. Work, Tuskegee Inst., Ala.
The Negro Musician,
Editor Henry L. Grant, Washington, D.C.
The Search Light.
Editor A. B. Vincent, Raleigh, N. C.
The Up-Reach Magazine,
M. N. Huggins, Chicago, Ill.

Some names in above list are extracts from Negro Year Book, 1918-1919 edition, (Page 465).

As a successful magazine essay prize writer, Isaac Fisher, of Nashville, Tenn., is recognized today as the foremost in the Negro race. The following quotation is part of an article that appeared in the July 9, 1921 issue of the Chicago Defender:

“The third prize of $75, offered by the Metropolitan Magazine of New York in its contest for writers on the subject, “Can We Keep Peace with Japan,” was won by Isaac Fisher, editor of the Fisk University News, according to an announcement made in the August issue of the magazine just released....

“Among the prizes he has won in the past through his writings are first prize of $500 offered by Everybody’s Magazine; first prize of $100 offered by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch; first prize of $50 offered for the best digest of the merits of the money-weight scales; second prize of $400 offered by Hart, Schaffner & Marx’ executive committee of Chicago; second prize of $100 offered by the Manufacturers’ Record of Baltimore.

“Those who know Mr. Fisher’s records are aware that these are but a few of the prizes he has won in competition with the best minds of the country. It will be remembered that he won the first prize of $500 in Everybody’s Magazine contest in competition with 900 writers, including some of the best legal and professional men of the country.”

In summing up, the leading Colored short-story writers of today who are known throughout the country as standing contributors to newspapers and magazines are Frances Coston Berry, Indianapolis, Ind., Aubrey Bowser, New York, Chas. W. Chestnut, Cleveland, O., W. E. B. DuBois, New York, Jessie R. Fauset, New York, Isaac Fisher, Nashville, Tenn., T. Thomas Fortune, New York, W. N. Huggins, Chicago, Ill., Jas. A. Jackson, New York, A. L. Jackson, Chicago, Ill., Jas. Weldon Johnson, N. Y., Fenton Johnson, Chicago, Ill., Alice Dunbar Nelson, Wilmington, Del., Beatrice (Neave) Perry, Phila., Pa.

IN BOOK WRITING
Inspiring Books

When winds outside are howling loud,
And snows fall fast from winter cloud,
Or burning sun peeps through the leaves;
As gently they dart from summer breeze;
Let me sit near winter’s purring fire,
Or by summer’s gurgling brook retire.
With books to read of great deeds done
By those who from low depths did run.
—Harrison.

ON account of the present day rapid streams of their smoothly flowing inks into the deep-lettered channels of their versatile works, the following named persons, according to the estimation of one of America’s best literary critics, are ten of the foremost American Colored authors of today:

Wm. S. Braithwaite, Boston, Mass., Benjamin G. Brawley, Atlanta, Ga., W. E. B. Dubois, Jessie R. Fauset, Jas. Weldon Johnson, New York City, Georgia D. Johnson, Kelly Miller, Washington, D.C., Lucian B. Watkins, Annapolis, Md., Carter G. Woodson, Washington, D.C. and Monroe N. Work, Tuskegee, Alabama.

The following more detailed list contains the names of some of the foremost Colored authors and their most important works produced in America:

Delilah L. Beasley’s
Negro Trail Blazers of California.
Ford S. Black’s
Blue Book of Chicago.
Aubrey Bowser’s
The Man Who Would be White.
R. H. Boyd’s
Sunday School Commentary.
St. Elmo Brady’s
Household Chemistry for Girls.
Wm. S. Braithwaite’s
Anthology of Magazine Verse—Golden Treasury of Magazine Verse—Lyrics of Life and Love—Story of the Great War.
C. F. Bragg’s
Men of Maryland—Afro-American Church Workers.
Benj. G. Brawley’s.
History of The Negro—The Negro in Literature and Art.
Chas. W. Chestnutt’s
The Conjur Woman—The House Behind The Cedars—The
Marrow of Tradition—Frederick Douglass.
Jos. S. Cotter, Sr’s.
Caleb The Degenerate—Links of Friendship—Sequel to The Pied Piper—White Song and A Black Song.
Jos. S. Cotter, Jr’s.
Band of Gideon—Out of The Shadows.
L. J. Coppin’s
Unwritten History.
A. B. Cosey’s
American and English Law on Titles of Record.
J. W. Cromwell’s
The Negro in American History.
D. W. Culp’s
Twentieth Century of Negro Literature.
Frederick Douglass
My Bondage and Freedom—Life and Times of Frederick Douglass.
W. E. B. DuBois
The Suppression of The Slave Trade—Souls of Black
Folks—The Quest of The Silver Fleece—John Brown—Darkwater.
Paul Lawrence Dunbar’s
Folks From Dixie—Love and Landry —Lyrics of Lowly Life—Uncalled—Heart of Happy Hollow—Lyrics of The Hearthstone— Strength of Gideon and Other Stories—Complete Poems—Lyrics of Love and Laughter—Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow—Poems of Cabin and Field—Life and Works of Paul Lawrence Dunbar.
H. O. Flipper’s
Colored Cadets At West Point.
A. H. Grimke’s
Negro and The Elective Franchise.
S. E. Griggs’
Life’s Demand or According to Law—The Hindered Hand-Unfettered.
Frances E. Harper’s
Iola Leroy—Miscellaneous Poems —Sketches of Southern Life.
Algernon B. Jackson’s
The Man Next Door.
Jas. Weldon Johnson’s
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man—Fifty Years and Other Poems.
Edw. A. Johnson’s
Light Ahead For the Negro— School History of The Negro Race In America—The Negro in The Spanish-American War.
Georgia D. Johnson’s
An Autumn Love Cycle—Heart of A Woman and Other Poems—Shadow Song.
M. A. Majors’
Noted Negro Women.
Jas. E. McGirth’s
The Triumph of Ephraim —Some Simple Songs.
Kelly Miller’s
Out of The House of Bondage—Race Adjustment—World War For Human Rights.
J. E. Moorland’s
Training of The Negro Minister.
Mrs. N. F. Mosselle’s
Afro-American Women.
R. R. Moton’s
Finding A Way Out.
Daniel Murray’s
Encyclopedia Of The Negro.
Alice Dunbar Nelson’s
Masterpieces of Eloquence—Goodness of St. Rocque And Other Stories.
D. A. Payne’s
History Of The A. M. E. Church
I. G. Penn’s
The Afro-American Press.
C. H. Phillips’
History of The C. M. E. Church.
William Pickens’
The Heir of Slaves.
J. A. Rogers’
From Superman to Man—An Open Letter To Congress.
Emmett J. Scott’s
Booker T. Washington, Builder of a Civilization—Scott’s Official History of The American Negro In The World War.
W. H. Shackelford’s
Along the Highway—Poems.
Mrs. S. M. Steward’s
Women In Medicine.
Allison W. Sweeney’s
History Of The World War.
B. T. Tanner’s
History & Government Of The A. M. E. Z. Church Men.
Booker T. Washington’s
Up From Slavery—Frederick Douglass—My Larger Education—Character Building—The Man Farthest Down—Working With The Hands—Future Of The American Negro—Negro In Business—Sowing and Reaping—Tuskegee and Its People.—Story of My Life And Work.
Geo. W. Williams’
History Of The Negro Race In America—History Of The Negro Troops In The Rebellion.
Carter G. Woodson’s
A Century of Negro Migration—Education Of The Negro Prior To 1861.
John W. Work’s
Folk Songs Of The American Negro.
Monroe N. Work’s
Negro Year Book.
R. R. Wright, Sr’s.
Negro Education in Georgia.
R. R. Wright, Jr’s.
Centennial Encyclopedia Of The African M. E. Church.

(Some names in above list are from Negro Year Book, 1918-1919 edition, Pgs. 481-2-3.)